CortinaNeb
Our nebulizer, the Cortinaneb, is now ready to be distributed widely. Previous versions have taken many forms. The Cortinaneb is very small, very portable, very easy to make, and very easy to use. It is the size of a soda can and can hook up to any normal bicycle pump to be used. Cortinaneb can go anywhere and be used by many with very little training.
No wires
On a mountain top or middle of a jungle, electricity is not needed to provide life-saving treatment with a CortinaNeb. Just put a Cortinaneb, a mouthpiece and medicine from a pharmacy, and a bicycle pump in a backpack and you can be ready to treat respiratory conditions anywhere. We have worked closely with the healthcare community in low resource settings in order to have a design that respond to their needs in the field work.
Applications
Nebulizers like the Cortinaneb can be used in Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention of disease.
Diagnosis
The gold standard for diagnosis for TB comes from obtaining a good sputum sample from a person’s lungs. Whether it is a microscopic smear test or a Genexpert® to diagnosis drug resistant forms of the disease, a good lung sample is needed. Sometimes people can produce a sample on their own, but often they can’t. Children, people living with HIV, and many others have a hard time producing a sputum sample. Therefore, nebulizing salty water is a great tool to make sure every patient who needs to be tested for TB can be.
Treatment
While inhalers are common in the U.S., nebulizers are the norm in clinics in poor communities. Cost is one reason. The ability of patients to comply with the maneuver for inhalers is another. Also, when a patient is in real trouble, a nebulizer can be a life-saver. Also, a nebulizer is a single technology can provide a wide range of wet treatments of the lungs, like salt solutions for TB diagnosis for example.
Opening airways of those suffering is a first line of treatment for those with COPD, asthma, and respiratory infections. Aerosolized antibiotics and other treatments also have the potential to fight lower respiratory infections.
Prevention
Aerosolized vaccines have been used for many years. The obvious advantage of nebulized vaccines is that no needles are needed. Unfortunately, needles are reused in low resource settings increasing the chance of actually spreading disease when you are trying to prevent it. There may be other advantages of aerosolized vaccines. It may be able to confer both mucosal and systemic immunity, for example. Maintaining a cold chain for vaccines could be a thing of the past; one of the aerosolized measles vaccine is in dry powder to be reconstituted on site. Finally, the medical waste of vaccine strategies can be minimized with a CortinaNeb a mask that can be recleaned many times. A backpack full of supplies could vaccinate thousands!